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The Shrinking American Home

The nation’s love affair with McMansions continues to wane: The average size of new single-family homes completed last year fell again, a trend expected to continue for several years, the National Association of Home Builders said at its annual conference in Orlando.

In 2010, completed homes measured an average 2,377 square feet, down about 3% from the year earlier. By 2015, many builders expect the average home size to shrink to 2,152 square feet.

This downsizing ends an expansion that spanned nearly three decades: The average size peaked at 2,521 square feet back in 2007.

More than half of builders expect to build smaller and lower-priced models in 2011, a move that lets them compete with foreclosures and appeal to buyers who can no longer afford—or who no longer want—the boom-era’s supersized showpieces.